


The Flower Mom

by darkmoor



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: "And ain't nobody gonna stop her, Canon Compliant wherever I want it to be, F/M, Flower Mom is here to Mom, I'm here to have fun suckers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2020-09-23 04:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20334301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkmoor/pseuds/darkmoor
Summary: Her life was falling to pieces. Her nana, her work, her darling daughter, all of it was so much. Too much.But will the Habitat be much better?





	1. Chapter 1

Midnight struck on the clock in the still, dimly lit hospital room. An old woman lies in bed with whirring machines next to her, the only sound in the room. The IVs were deep into her arm, showing through her papery, translucent, copper skin. Her head slowly turned to the side facing a younger woman who sat beside her. Along with the flower arrangement placed lovingly on the table, a small card with the name “Nana” written on it could be seen. 

She closed her eyes as she spoke. 

“Hoa.” 

“Yes, Nana?” 

“My wonderful flower, It’s almost my time to depart from this world.” 

Hoa grips her skirt as Nana talks. The doctors said something about how Nana stopped her treatment, it hurt to hear because it was true. “I...I know.” She replied, it was quiet just above a whisper. The overly clean tile floor caught her reflection as she kept her head down. There was silence. Cold air breezed through the single open window with curtains adorned on each side.

“Please, stay with me until I pass.” 

* * *

  
  


A week had passed and Nana’s funeral had taken place. Everything felt, bleak to say the least. Her warm presence was absent from the flower shop, her home...the list could go on. 

Even picking up her kid from school seemed to get harder every day. With other mothers waiting for their children in the front office, Hoa could hear whispers as she stood there. Murmurings of her ill-fitting outfit and long, black unkempt hair, her tired grimace. The talking was unbearable. She only heard snippets of it when one of them would speak a little too loudly, but it was still there. 

She felt lost in her own thoughts. What did  _ they _ know? Their eyes so unfeeling, waiting for her to slip up. As if she was something to gawk at till they went home to their husbands. What a bunch of vult-

“Mommy!” An excited five-year-old yelled as she ran up to Hoa, completely pulling her out of those dark thoughts.

“Hey, kiddo.” She said, a tired smile on her face. “You ready to go?” 

The kid nodded and that was good enough for her. Turning away to leave she heard the last snippet of gossip. 

“I wonder what she’ll be like when she grows up.” 

A feeling of dread pinged through her chest. The nerve of some parents. 

* * *

  
  


“Hoa, I think Tien should live with me.” 

This had to be a joke call she got from her ex-husband. There was NO WAY the same man who cheated on her during the time she was pregnant then would try and claim custody now. 

“As you know, I’ve remarried. We have a house, a backyard, and I think it’d just be so much better for her to have space rather than be cramped up in some apartment.” 

Remarried? Bought a house? How? With what money? With WHOSE money?

“You don’t have to get so mad with me! I’m doing what’s best for OUR child!” 

Was it such a crime to defend herself in the name of keeping her own kid?

“Ugh! This is WHY I want Tien to live with us. You are utterly MISERABLE to live with! Everyone on my side of the family thinks you are a rude, volatile, NEG of a woman!” 

A child needs her mother. 

“I’ll see you in court.” 

She slammed the receiver back into the cradle. 

Why?

_ Why? _

** _Why? _ **

That was the final nail in the coffin. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, first Nana ...now Tien? Hoa flopped onto the couch in the living room. “Defeated” was the perfect word to how she felt. She couldn’t even begin to think of the emptiness that would come to losing her only daughter. Pulling herself back up, at least to reach for the phone that was on the end table next to her. She picked up the receiver, frantically dialing a number. 

“....” 

“....” 

“...” 

“Hello?” 

She doesn’t know what to do.

“Hoa??? What’s the matter???” 

She’s losing everything.

“You need to stop crying! I can’t understand you.” 

What is there to understand? 

“He’s taking Tien?” 

Yes.

“Okay, alright, sweetie, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” 

She hung up again, and her cries got louder. Hoa planted her face on one of the decorative pillows, muffling her cries so she wouldn’t disturb the neighbors - or Tien, for that matter. The only comfort thing she felt was her weight under the cushions. 

She had always kept to her word, and in fifteen minutes exactly there was a knock at the door. Hoa’s eyes were red from the crying she’d been doing in that time. The tired aches in her body were more prominent than ever as she got up from her place on the couch, shuffling to the door. Through the peephole was a welcome and familiar sight: her mother, standing at the doorstep... A wave of relief and frigid night air rushed in as Hoa opened the door.

Seeing Hoa in some state of tired wasn’t anything new, what with having a five-year-old and all. But it was the tired mixed with bloodshot eyes and dried tears on her cheeks that was...different. Closing the door behind her, she spoke up. “What happened?” 

“H..He called, talked about taking Tien away from me. By taking me to court.” Hoa winced at how hoarse her voice had become. “I can’t raise her like this and run the flower shop. I can’t do it, I-” 

“You don’t need to!” She said, taking Hoa back into the living room, her hand rubbing her upper back. Out of all the times she’d seen her daughter act so unnerving this was one of them. “I can do it for a while even. Your father and I, we can take her off your hands for a while.” 

She pinched the bridge of her nose, shutting her eyes as she stood there. “What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Work myself to death?” 

“I’m sure you can find a...what do you call it? A mental health resort?” 

She turned her head, staring at the older woman in irritation. Her fist clenching at the words spoken at her. .“Oh, so you want me to be put in a loony bin?” 

Mother sighed. She’s being difficult, of course. There had to be a way to de-escalate this situation, quickly.

“It's for you to feel better. Somewhere you can escape to for a while. And when you’re feeling like you can handle this, you can come right back and take little Tien and go back to living your life.” 

Hoa refused to respond. She simply stared at her mother, shoulders still tightened and eyes harsh. But mother reached for her hand, and she didn’t pull back.“Hoa, I know you can do this and find one place you like. I can even help you look for one.” 

“I’m scared.” Straight to the point, mental help resorts were somewhat frowned upon especially for women like her.

Neurotic. 

Hoa took her place back on the couch. It wasn’t just having to be vulnerable to some stranger, pouring out her emotions to anyone but her family, also a leap of faith financially. How was she going to pay for it? How was she going to keep everything afloat while she was gone? Her mom said she’d take care of Tien, so that was no issue, but what about the house? The shop?

She sat there in silence for what felt like forever. Weighing the options of trying to hold this in compared to going somewhere to relax and talk to someone. 

It wasn’t an easy choice. But it was one she had to make.

“Okay. I’ll do it.” 

Mothers eyes crinkled upwards. “I think someone recently left a flyer in the shop. I will go get it for you. It was for some place called...The Habitat.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://ko-fi.com/blairwitch i'll write more soon, college is kicking my ass.

Being open about problems was not Hoa’s strong suit, especially not in such an unconventional place. The weird decor drawn on the walls felt almost frantic. The clear leftovers of a dentist’s office weren’t any better. All of those could be considered a strange aesthetic she supposed, but the most unusual thing of all came when she began talking. When she spoke about her problems, her life, why she decided to come to 'The Habitat'...well, she wasn't able to get far.

"I've been stressed lately. My ex-husband is trying to claim custody of my daughter, even though he's been absent all her life," She glanced around the office a little more, wanting to think of the right words to say before crossing her arms, looking away. "And this was just after my...my grandmother passed. I've been trying to keep her flower shop afloat, and I just-"

"Per-haps it is better that she's is gone, then."

That sentence sent a shock through Hoa's system and she stared, dead-eyed as a market fish at the man in front of her.

Doctor Habit took a look at her appalled face and hummed, a tight frown pulled across his face. "She Has given you much to live up to, and itis a lot to handle. My father was the samest way."

Huh?

"He wanted me two go into his line of work, you knowe. He was quiet ""insistent"" on it. Adn to make surr I could dew that, I had to make a few sac-ri-fi-ces."

What?

"So MAY-be, it is the timey for you to do the same." He nods, giving a gesture with his long, clawed fingers. "Now, that she is gon, you can make your sacrifices. For you'r busyness, or youre family. After all, you can'not always get What You Want."

Okay?

"You HAV to crack a cou-ple of eggs to make an oMelette. It is just like My Work with the Habitat here.., I had 2 give up a llot tu get to where we are today."

What the hell was he talking about?

"I remember when I was juust a boy," He tapped his fingers on the granite desk top, "and I had So Many Dream's of making everyone habby. Nowe I know I canno't do that, after I had a check-uppy with reality. Sow I focus on these Habiticians hear instead,, like your-self, Flower-Mother."

At the first proper pause Habit had taken, Hoa cleared her throat.

“Ah...yes, though, Doctor. I must ask. Is this not  _ my _ therapy session?” 

That seemed like a fair question to ask after getting told by an eccentric doctor that it was better that her grandmother was dead before proceeding to talk about his own childhood. He talked about sacrifices, like what? Giving up her daughter to that man? 

Flower mother was an odd choice for a nickname, and so soon 

“I don’t mean to be rude. However, I came to  _ you  _ for help and with what you’re saying, maybe  _ you _ need therapy.” 

Something about how the doctor in front of her went deathly quiet felt tense. A little uncomfortable too. Okay, maybe telling him that he may need therapy was a rude thing to say. What was she supposed to do? Just sit there and let him talk about his life? Was she being too harsh? This was the first session anyways. 

“..I apologize. Perhaps, I’m a bit too rough around the edges. Probably because of this last week.” 

“Peer-haps. Yor still grieeving after all.” 

“That too.” 

“Yees. I thimk yo u need som time here to relax.” 

Hoa felt a little confused by his methods. No grief counseling? Maybe that was coming later and she just needed to decompress. The session came to an end and Dr.Habit led her to the room she would be staying in. 

The room itself was large and spacious, and there was no door either which was concerning, to say the least. The only thing she could see was the mattress in the far corner along with a TV on the wall. She could catch up with her shows while she was here. 

“Enjoie yor stay, Flower-Mother.” With that, he walked off. He seemed a bit off, she wrote it off as he was a bit miffed about her outburst during her session. 

This seemed like this was going to be her home now. She might as well get used to it, and the first thing she could do to try and get more comfortable was to sleep. Once Hoa made her way over to the mattress she gently picked up the horse blanket on it. 

“Howdy.” 

“What the-” 

She jumped at the sudden voice and dropped the blanket completely. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I wanna thank my beta reader, Coelpts for helping me so much with this fic especially since I was writing this feverishly and finally cranked the first chapter out. I hope you guys enjoy it!!


End file.
